Tristen is a variant of Tristan, the Cornish knight of Arthurian legend who fell in love with Isolde. The name goes back to the Celtic Drystan, usually explained as "tumult" or "riot", and was later reshaped after the French triste, "sad", to suit the tragic tale. The e spelling ranked number 328 in 2000, peaked at number 303 in 2009, left the top 1000 in 2021 and stands at number 1512 in 2025.